Asphalt roof laying machine



May 24, 1960 F. A. REUSTLE ASPHALT ROOF LAYING MACHINE Filed March 28, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 usi'le ATTORNEY May 24, 1960 F. A. REUSTLE ASPHALT ROOF LAYING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 28, 1958 INVENTOR ['7 J1 e u si'Ze ATTORNEY May 24, 1960 F. A. REUSTLE ASPHALT ROOF LAYING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 28, 1958 INVENTOR I! J? .R e usi'le ATTORNEY nite Sm P n ASPHALT ROOF LAYINGMACHINE Frank A. Reustle, Box 14, Norma, NJ. Filed Mar. 28, 1958, Ser. No. 724,604

9 Claims. (Cl. 2165-40 This invention relates to a machine or apparatus of simple construction for use in laying a roof covering, such as felt, and which is secured to the roof with asphalt or a similar bonding medium.

More particularly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a machine which may be utilized for coating a roof surface and for applying a'felt covering immediately behind the coating.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine wherein a covering in the form of a roll of material rests upon the roof and is so connected to the machine as to be propelled along by the machine for simultaneously unwinding and laying the felt.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine or apparatus wherein the weight of the rolled material is utilized in laying and securing the-material smoothly on the roof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine which may be effectively utilized for coating a surface to a point in close proximity to a wall rising from a roof, without the necessity of moving the machine in a direction longitudinally of the wall.

A further object of the invention is to provide a roof laying machine having novel means for correctly locating the machine relative to the roll for a proper overlap and having visual indicator means so that the desired overlap will be maintainedwhile the roofing material is being laid.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of extremely lightweight construction made possible by the fact that the machine is not requ'ned to support a heavy roll of roofingmaterial.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a machine having readily controllable means for maintaining the asphalt or other bonding medium heated to a proper temperature and for accurately and uniformly dispensing the bonding medium in advance of the roof covering, so that a correct amount of the bonding material will be applied as a coating directly in front of and in the path of movement ,of the rolled material being laid.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing the machine in operation;

Figure 2 is a top plan view, partly broken away, of the machine;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3-3 of Figure 2-and. showing the machine folded;

Figure '4 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 1, and on an enlarged scale;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view, taken substantially along a plane as indicatedv by line 5-5 of Figure 1;

., Figure o is a transversefragmentary sectional view 2 i taken substantially along the line on an enlarged scale;

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse "sec tional view taken substantially along a planeas indicated by the line 7-7 of Figure 1; I I a Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary bottom plan view,-

partly in section, of a portion of the storage tank and heater;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view,

taken substantially along a'plane as indicated bythe line 9-9 of Figure l; g p 7 Figure 10 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse-sectional view, taken substantially along aplane as indicated by the line 10-10 of Figure 2, and F Figures 11 and 12 are enlarged fragmentary lon'gi-j' tudinal sectional views taken substantially along-planes as indicated by the lines 11- 11 and '1 2' 1 2',l"ofFigur'e' 2,'

i elongated in a direction crosswise of the longitudinal axis of the machine 15. The tank 16 has an upwardly'and outwardly inclined front wall 17 to the outer side of which is secured a heater casing 18 which is" provided with a substantially upright front wall 19 and a; bottom 20. The bottom 20 is disposed at substantially a right angle to' the front wall 19. Stub axles 21 are connected to and extend outwardly from the end portions of the front wall 19, adjacent the bottom 20, and a pair of transversely aligned supporting wheels 22 are journaled on said stub axles Z1 and are disposed outwardly with respect to the sides of the machine 15, as seen in Figure 2.

The tank 16 has a substantially upright rear wall 23.

Brackets 24 are fixed to and extend rearwardly from the ends of the rear wall 23. A handle, designated generally 25, includes a yoke 26 having substantially parallel ends or legs 27 which straddle the ends of the tank 16 and heater casing 18 and which are provided with inturned terminals 28,- as seen in Figure 3, which are journaled in lower portions of the brackets 24. Hooks 29 are pivotally connected to the outer side of the end portions of the front wall 19 and are adapted to be swung outwardly and upwardly to engage the yoke legs 27, as seen-in Figure 1, for supporting the handle 25 in a raised posi tion. The handle 25 includes a shank portion 30 which is secured to and extends outwardly from the intermediate portion of the yoke 26, as seen in Figures 1 and 2. The shank 30 is adjustably connected'to the y'okef26f by a T-coupling 31 and setscrews 32 so that the angle of the shank 30 may be adjusted relative to'the plane of the yoke. The shank 30 has a'tubular cross member 33 at its outer end in which an elongated rod 34 is reciprocably mounted The rod 34 can be adjustablysecured' to the cross member or handgrip 33 by tightening asetscrew 35. The rod 34 is provided with graduations 36 forming a linear scale, as seen in Figure 2, for a purpose which will hereinafter be described.

The tank 16 is provided with a rounded bottomf37 which is provided with a row of discharge openings 38 extending substantially from end-to-end of the tank 16. A valve 39 is reciprocably mounted against the underside of the bottom 37 and is'supported for sliding movement in guides 40 which are fastened to the underside-- of the bottom 37, so as to straddle the openings 38. The valve plate 39 is transversely bowed to oonform to the curvature of the bottom 37 and extends substantially from end-to-end thereof and isprovided with longitudinally spaced openings 41 which are spaced apart a distance corresponding to the spacing between the openings 38. 5

etee d M y, 2 1

6- 6 of Figure 1 and Alever 42 is pivotally mounted at a point spaced from its ends by a pivot element 43 which extends downwardly from the heater casing bottom 20. The rear end of the lever 42. is provided with a longitudinally elongated slot 44 for loosely receiving a pin 44 which is fixed to and extends downwardly from the intermediate portion of the valve 39. The lever 42 has a restricted forward end 45 which projects forwardly from beneath the heater casing 18. andwhich is loosely engaged by a downwardly openingbifurcated end 46 of a bell crank 47, as best seen in Figure 4. The bell crank 47 is pivotally mounted at its' apex by a pivot element 48 on the front wall 19 and has a second'horizontally extending arm 49 to the outerend of which is attached one end of a cable 50.

The cable 50 extends upwardly from the arm 49 between apair of guide pulleys 51 which are mounted by brackets 52, so as to extend forwardly from the upper part of the front wall 19. The cable 50 normally extends over the outermost pulley 51 toward the outer end of the handle 25 and has apart detachably connected to a lever 53 which is pivotally mounted on the handle shank 30 and which is provided with a conventional latch 54 whereby said lever may be maintained in different angularly adjusted positions relative to the handle shank 30. The cable 50 has a slack portion 55 extending beyond the lever 53 and which is connected to the handle grip 33.

An elongated gas burner 56 is mounted in the lower part of the casing 18 and extends substantially from endto-end. thereof. A baflde or deflector 57, as best seen in Figure 3, extends downwardly and forwardly from the front wall 17 and has its forward edge spaced from the front heater casing wall 19. The deflector 57 is located above and adjacent the burner 56 for directing the heat therefrom toward the lower portion of the front wall of the tank 16. The casing front wall 19 has air inlet openings 58 located adjacent the burner 56. An elongated tubular holder 59 is mounted on the outer side of the upper portion of the front wall 19, near one end thereof, by a bracket 60. The holder 59 is adapted to detachably support a container 61 of an inflammable gas, such as the conventional bottled propane gas. One end of a conduit 62 terminates adjacent an end of the holder 59 and is adapted to be detachably connected to an outlet of the storage container 61, and said conduit end is provided with a manually controlled shutoif valve 63 for shutting off and regulating the flow of gas through the conduit 62 from the container 61. The other end of the conduit 62 extends inwardly through the front wall 19 and opens into the burner 56, as seen in Figure 3.

A thermal unit 64 extends through the rear wall 23 into the lower portion of the tank 16 and is connected to a gauge 65 which is disposed above and behind the tafi 16, for visually indicating the temperature in said ta The rear wall 23 has one or more upright sleeve members 66 secured to its outer side in each of which is adjustably mounted a rod 67 by a setscrew 68. The lower portion of the rod 67 forms a leg to cooperate with the wheels 22 for supporting the tank and heater in substantially an upright position, as illustrated in Figure 3.

The parts previously described constitute the front portion of the machine 15. Said machine 15 also includes a rear section which includes a frame member or hood 69 having a top portion 70, a front portion 71 and a rear portion 72. A hinge 73, which extends substantially from side-to-side of the machine 15, connects the front edge of the front portion 71 to the upper edge of the rear wall 23. The top portion 70 has arms 74 connected by hinges 75 to the ends thereof, so that said arms 74 are disposed at the sides of the machine 15. Stop members 76 extend downwardly from the ends of the top portion 70 and have inwardly extending upper portions 77, as seen in Figure 2, which overlie end portions of the top part 70 and which are provided with fastenings 78 which slidably engage slots 79 of the portion 70 for mounting said stops 76 for 4 sliding movement forwardly and rearwardly of the machine 15.

As best seen in Figure 5, a shaft 80 extends through and is journaled in an opening 81 of each arm 74. The shafts 80 are disposed adjacent the free ends of the arms 74. A large circular hub 82 is fixed to the inner end of each shaft 80 and a disc 83 is fixed to the outer end of each shaft 80 and is maintained spaced from the arm 74 by a spacing element 84. Thus, the hub 82 and disc 83 turn as a unit.

Each arm 74 has an end of a cable 85 secured thereto above and adjacentits shaft 80, as seen in Figure 1, and said cables 85 extend forwardly from the arms 74 and have forward portions which engage through upwardly opening notches 86 of the brackets 24, and said last mentioned cable ends terminate in enlargements 87 which engage the inner sides of the brackets 24 and prevent the cables 85 from slidingoutwardly therethrough, so that the cables can be disconnected from the brackets 24 only by upward displacement.

The frame or hood 69 is shown in an operative position in Figures 1 and 2 behind the tank 16 and the front frame portion 71 extends upwardly and rearwardly from the hinge 73 and the top portion 70 is disposed nearly in a horizontal plane. With the parts disposed, the rear hood portion 72 extends downwardly and rearwardly and is provided on its. outer side and adjacent its ends with tubular guides 88, each, of which extends substantially from top to bottom of the rear portion 72. A rod 89 extends longitudinally through each tube 88 and is slidably mounted in the restricted ends 90 of said tube. Each rod 89 has a forked lower end 91 in which a small wheel or roller 92 is journaled. Each rod 89 carries a compression spring 93 which is loosely mounted thereon and loosely disposed within the tube 88. The upper end of the spring 93 bears against the upper restricted tube end 90 and the lower end of said spring bears against a collar 94 which is fixed to the rod and slidably disposed in the tube 88. A pin 95 extends through the upper end of the rod 89 to limit downward displacement of said rod by the spring 93.

A hanger rod 96 has an upper portion extending loosely through an opening 97 in the rear part of the top portion 70 and is maintained against upward and downward movement by pins 98 which extend transversely therethrough above and beneath the hood portion 70 and which permit the hanger rod 96 to rock and swivel relative to the hood portion 70. The lower end of the hanger rod 96 is fixed to the intermediate portion of a bar 99 the end portions of which extend outwardly from the side edges of the hood 69, as seen in Figure 2. Arms 100 are pivotally connected by pivots 101 to the ends of the bar 99 for swinging movement of said arms 100 in substantially horizontal planes. The arms 100 normally extend forward from the bar 99 and have grooved rollers 102 rotatably supported by the forward free ends thereof for rotation about axes disposed crosswise of the axes of arms 100. The grooved rollers 102 normally engage the discs 83, as seen in Figures 1, 2 and 5.

A rod 103 is pivotally connected to the upper end of the rod 96, above the hood portion 70, and extends forwardly therefrom, as seen in Figure 2. A bracket 104 is fixed to and extends upwardly from the hood portion 70, forwardly of the hanger rod 96, and is disposed crosswise of the machine 15 and has an elongated horizontal slot 105, as best seen in Figure 10, which is likewise disposed crosswise of the machine 15. A pointer 106 is fixed to and extends upwardly from the rod 103, on the forward side of the bracket 104, and is disposed for movement across a notch 107 in the top edge of the bracket 104.

Cylinders 108 extend through and are secured in the rear hood portion 72, adjacent the ends thereof, and are1 provided with closed rear ends and open forward en s. the cylinders 108 and have forward ends pivotally con- Rods 109 project from the open forward ends of nected to the bar 99 "adjacent the ends thereof. Said rods 109 have heads 110 at their opposite rear ends which are reciprocably mounted in the cylinders 108. Compression springs 111 are disposed in the cylinders 108 between their rear ends and the rod heads 110 for urging the rods 109 forwardly.

A handle 112 has a forward end secured to the intermediate portion of the bar 99 and said handle extends rearwardly therefrom through a vertical slot 113 in the rear hood portion 72, as seen in Figure 6. The handle 112 normally bears against the bottom edge of the slot 113 and is formed of a resilient material so that it can be sprung upwardly in said slot. As best seen in Figure 12, the handle 112 is provided with a depending lug or tooth 114 so that by pulling rearwardly on the handle 112 said tooth can be engaged with the rear hood portion 72 for latching the bar 99 in a retracted position in close proximity to the hood portion 72 and rearwardly of its position as illustrated in Figures 1 and 12.

By disengaging the cables 85 from the brackets 24, the rear frame section 69 can be swung about its hinge 73 to substantially an upright position above and supported on the tank 16. The frame portion 71 is provided with an opening 115, as seen in Figure 2, which passes over the gauge 65 in moving the rear frame section 69 from its position of Figure 1 to its position of Figure 3. With the frame 69 disposed over the tank 16, the front half the machine 15 forms a cart supported by the wheels 22 and legs 67. By engaging the handle portions 27 with the hooks 29 the machine 15 can be pushed as a cart by the handle 25 as well as being pulled.

Assuming that the burner 56 is lighted and gas is being supplied thereto through the conduit 62 for maintaining asphalt or other bonding medium, not shown, heated to a proper temperature in the tank 16, the operator may dispense the heated fluent asphalt through the discharge openings 38 and valve openings 41 by pulling outwardly on the lever 53 to exert a pull on the cable 50. This will cause the bell crank 57 to be rocked for swinging the lever 42 to thus move the slide valve 39 to position the openings 41 thereof in registration with the tank openings 38. The latch 54 can be utilized for holding the lever 53 in a desired adjusted position with the valve 39 open to a desired extent. A tension spring 116, as seen in Figure 8, is anchored to the tank bottom 20 and connected to the lever 42 to normally urge and maintain the valve 39 in a closed position against a fixed stop 116, as seen in Figure 7, which extends downwardly from one end of the tank 16. A setscrew 117 is mounted in a'bracket 118. The bracket is supported by the other end of the tank 16 and the setscrew is adjustably disposed beyond the other end of the valve 39 to form an adjustable stop to limit the extent of movement of the valve to an open position. It will thus be seen that the machine 15 can be pushed as a cart up to a point close to a wall 119 rising from a roof120 to commence applying the coating, after which the machine 15 is pulled away from the wall 119, or from right to left of Figure 3, for a short distance. With thevalve 39 then closed, a roll 121 of roofing felt may be placed between the machine 15 and the wall 119 on the coated surface and an end of the roofing felt may be placed under the flashing 122. The roll 121 is positioned with a proper overlap relative to a previously laid strip, such as two inches.

The machine 15 is then manipulated by the handle to position the tank 16 directly in front of and spaced slightly from the roll 121. The handle 112 is latched in a retracted position and the arms 100 are swung outwardly'so that the arms 74 can be swung away from one another, with the keepers 76 disposed in inoperative positions, as illustrated in Figure 3. The rear frame section 69 can then be swung downwardly over the roll 121. The arms 74 are swung downwardly and inwardly to depending substantially parallel positions relative to one ends of the bore 123 of the roll 121. The'keepers 76 are then moved to their positions of Figure 1 to prevent outward swinging movement of the arms 74, and the cables are engaged with the brackets 24. The'handle 112 is unlatched so that the rollers 102 can be re-engaged with the discs 83 and will be held in engagement therewith by the pressure of the springs 111. The diameter of the bore 123 is larger than the diameter of the hubs 82 so that the roll 121 is supported by theroof and the rear frame section 69 is yieldably supported over and around the roll 121 by the rods 89 and their springs 93. a

The hooks 29 are next disengaged from the handle portions 27 so that the handle 25 can be lowered. With the setscrew 35 loosened, the rod 34 is extended'until' an end thereof is in alignment with the endof the roll 121 which overlaps a strip of the roofing material previously laid and, after tightening the setscrew 35, the machine 15 is manipulated until said end of the rod also overlaps the previously laid roofing strip by two inches. The valve 39 is then opened and the machine ispulled forward by the handle 25, from right to left of Figure 1. The hubs 82 by engagement withthe ends of the bore 123 will cause the roll 121 to be propelled with the machine 15 to unwind as it is rolled. The felt or roofing material as it is unwound from the roll 121 will be laid smoothly by the weight of the roll immediately behind the asphalt coating being applied to the roof 120 from the tank 16.

The operator while pulling the machine 15 watches the pointer 106 to keep it centered in the notch 107, which forms a visual indicator that the machine is being pulled in a straight line. Should the machine commence to move oif of its straight course, one of the hubs 82 will assume a position rearwardly of the other hub and the arm 100, located adjacent said hub, will be displaced rearwardly to cause a swinging of the bar 99 and a turning of the rod 96 which in turn will swing the rod 103 to move the pointer 106 laterally relative to the notch 107. As the diameter of the roll 121 diminishes, the hubs 82 will engage the upper and forwardparts of the ends of the bore 123 and the weight of the roll 121 will then pull the rear frame section 69 downwardly relative to its position of Figure 1, with the frame swinging about its hinge 73. The springs 93 will thus be compressed to allow the rods 89 to slide upwardly in the tubes 88.

When the machine 15 has been pulled to adjacent an end of the roof, the handle 25 can be swung clockwise, as seen in Figure 1, through an arc of substantially or sufficiently so that the handle can then be used to push the machine until the wheels 22 reach the end of the roof. In this manner the machine 15 can be operated to lay the roofing material almost up to the end of the roof that the machine is approaching, and for coating the roof 120 so that the roll can be moved manually the remaining distance after the machine has been disengaged therefrom. The free end of the slack portion 55 of the cable is connected to the lever 53 when the handle is reversed, so that the yoke 26 is positioned over the rear frame section 69, and the cable 50 is then trained over the inner roller or pulley 51.

To disengage the machine 15 from the roll 121 preparatory to repeating the operation previously described, the handle 112 is latched in a retracted position to disengage the rollers 102 from the discs 83. The stops 76 are then slid out of engagement with the arms 74 and the cables 85 are disengaged from the brackets 24, so that the rear frame section 69 can be returned to its inoperative folded position of Figure 3. It will be understood that the leg or legs 67 can be retracted when the rear frame section 69 is extended, as seen in Figures land 2.

Due to the fact that the machine 15 is not required to support the roofing roll 121, said machine can be made of relatively lightweight construction so that it can easily be lifted and carried by one man and can be readily carried up a ladder onto a roof.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A machine for laying rolled roofing material comprising an elongated tank adapted to contain a fluent bonding medium, said tank constituting a front section of the machine and including a front side and a rear side, supporting wheels connected to and disposed beyond the ends of the tank and providing a mobile support for the tank, a hood-like frame extending rearwardly from the tank and constituting a rear section of the machine, means pivotally connecting said frame to the rear side of the tank for up and down swinging movement of frame, a roll of roofing material adapted to rest upon a roof and having a bore extending centrally therethrough, said roll being disposed behind and substantially parallel to the tank, said frame having a top portion disposed over the roll, arms extending downwardly from said top portion and straddling the ends of the roll, hubs extending inwardly from said arms and loosely engaging in the ends of the bore of the roll for connecting the roll to the machine and for causing the roll to provide a support for said rear section and to be pulled behind the tank as the machine is propelled in a forward direction, means for dispensing the bonding medium from the tank to apply a coating of the bonding medium to the roof surface in front of the roll, said roll being unwound as it is propelled behind the tank, the weight of the roll functioning to apply and secure the roofing material as it is unwound, said rear section being capable of swinging downward as the roll is unwound and reduced in diameter, and a handle connected to the tank and extending from the forward side thereof and adapted to be manually engaged for propelling the machine in a forward direction.

2. A machine as in claim 1, said arms being hinged to the top portion for outward and upward swinging movement, stop members slidably connected to said top portion and movable into positions overlying said arms for maintaining the arms against outward and upward swinging movement for retaining the hub members in engagement with the ends of the bore of the roll.

3. A machine as in claim 1, said rear section including a downwardly extending rear portion disposed behind the roll, and supporting means yieldably connected to said rear portion and engaging the roof for partially supporting said rear section.

4. A machine as in claim 3, indicator means swingably supported by said top portion, and means connected to and actuated by said hub members for actuating said indicator means for visually indicating when the machine is propelling the roll in a straight line.

5. A machine as in claim 1, bracket members fixed to and extending rearwardly from the ends of said tank, and nonelastic flexible draft elements connected to said arms adjacent the hub members and detachably connected to said bracket members, forwardly of the hubs, whereby a pulling force is exerted on said arms adjacent the axis of the roll.

6. A machine for laying rolled roofing material comprising an elongated tank adapted to contain a fluent bonding medium, said tank constituting a front section of the machine and including a front side and a rear side, supporting wheels connected to and disposed beyond the ends of the tank and providing a mobile support for the tank, said machine including a rear section extending rearwardly from the tank, means pivotally connecting said rear section to the rear side of the tank for up and down swinging movement of said rear section, a roll of roofing material adapted to rest upon a roof and having a bore extending centrally therethrough, said roll being disposed behind and substantially parallel to the tank and beneath a portion of said rear section of the machine, said rear section including downwardly extending portions straddling the ends of the roll, and hub members extending inwardly from said downwardly extending portions and loosely engaging the ends of the roll for connecting the roll to the machine and for causing the roll to provide a support for said rear section and to be pulled behind the tank as the machine is propelled in a forward direction, and means for dispensing the bonding medium from the tank to apply a coating of the bonding medium to the roof surface in front of the roll, said roll being unwound as it is propelled behind the tank, the weight of the roll functioning to apply and secure the roofing material as it is unwound, and said rear section being capable of swinging downward as the roll is unwound and reduced in diameter.

7. A machine as in claim 6, said downwardly extending portions of the rear section constituting pivotally mounted parts disposed for swinging movement about axes disposed crosswise of the axis of swinging movement of the rear section relative to the tank.

8. A machine as in claim 6, brackets secured to the ends of the tank, and nonelastic flexible draft elements connected to said downwardly extending portions, adjacent the hub members, and to said brackets, whereby the pulling force is exerted on the arms adjacent the axis of the roll.

9. A machine as in claim 6, a handle connected to and extending forwardly from the tank, said handle including a laterally extensible part forming a linear scale for use in accurately positioning the machine relative to the roll of roofing material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,021,417 Hoffman Nov. 19, 1935 2,197,879 Robinson Apr. 23, 1940 2,373,239 Fern Apr. 10, 1945 2,493,893 Miller Jan. 10, 1950 2,500,583 Smith Mar. 14, 1950 2,546,308 Kahler Mar. 27, 1951 2,817,460 Bond Dec. 24, 1957 

